Audience - who is the resource for?

the resources here might be helpful for groups of any kind. They are resources that do not need an ‘expert’ to lead them but someone who can facilitate the process and the discussion.

Courses for Lent: while there are numerous courses written for Lent these resources have been included in the BILC tool-kit as they go beyond just a Bible study in that they focus too on an aspect of how we engage with Scripture. Each one has something different to offer.

Courses of several sessions: studying a part of the Bible through a number of sessions can enable a deep engagement with that part of Scripture. BILC has either commissioned or collected into this tool-box a number of these courses.

Finding a different approach to Bible Study: there are many ways to explore and engage with the Bible. Perhaps you are looking for something that is new for you or your church or group. The resources here are examples of a number of very different approaches to engaging with Scripture.

these resources have been designed so that everyone in the congregation can take enjoy them. Some are for use at the main Sunday service, some are suggestions for special study days or day conferences, and others invite members of the congregation to use them together but at a time and place that suits each person.

Bible Challenge - an initiative that challenges congregations to read either the whole Bible in a year or large sections of it over Lent or Advent.

Good Book Club - how might a congregation work its way through the Bible week by week?

Worship with the Gospels - four Eucharistic frameworks that journey through each of the Gospels - Matthew,Mark, Luke and John.

Day Conference to introduce the Gospel for each year of the lectionary: if we follow the lectionary then in each of the three lectionary years we follow one of the first three Gospels through our Sunday readings. To prepare for this change in the Gospel, a training day might be arranged to explore the background, structure and approach of the ‘new’ Gospel. BILC can offer an outline for such a day. study days are helpful ways to immerse people in a particular area of exploration.

Day workshop from Tanzania - the outline of a day workshop for clergy and lay leaders held in Morogoro, Tanzania in 2013 with the aim of encouraging and equipping church leaders to motivate congregations to a deeper engagement with the Bible.

reading the Bible or hearing it being read is not the most helpful method of exploring Scripture for some people. How might we encounter it in a different way? The Church has a strong tradition of using image and symbol as a way of inviting us to engage with God’s Word.

how do you encourage people to engage with Scripture when they might feel awkward because of their lack of knowledge? They may have attended church for many years but they do not wish to have their biblical ignorance shown up. These resources were designed to help overcome these difficulties.

Bible Challenge - an initiative that challenges congregations to read either the whole Bible in a year or large sections of it over Lent or Advent.

Good Book Club - how might a congregation work its way through the Bible week by week?

BIBLE360 - an outline of a day courses created by the Diocese of Brisbane, Australia that explores how the Bible fits together and how we can engage more deeply with it. It began with the question: How can we motivate people to read their Bible more?

The One-Year Bible Challenge - another example of a One-Year Bible reading scheme used by a church in Memphis, USA to encourage a deeper knowledge of Scripture.

one of the central roles of many authorised ministries within the Anglican/Episcopal Church is that of ‘teaching the Word’. Whether this is in the formal setting of our weekly worship or through the many informal groups that gather in most churches. The following resources unpack what an Anglican understanding of our relationship with the Bible looks like.

Mind the Gap 1: Reflections on the “Bible in the Life of the Church” project

Bridging the Gaps: A response to ‘“Mind the Gap” the Bible in the Life of the Church Project.’

Mind the Gap 2: With reference to the recent inquiry commissioned by the Anglican Consultative Council - "The Bible in the Life of the Church" - are 'hermeneutical gaps' in the use of the Bible necessarily detrimental to Anglican 'communion'?

where do you begin to explore a book that is not just one book but is made of 66 books of very different kinds - prayers, proverbs, moral instructions, stories, dreams, and parables for example? Perhaps two areas of resources might be a helpful starting point: first to understand ourselves and what we bring to our reading of Scripture; and second to explore what these books within a Book are trying to offer the reader.

The Bible- get the BIG picture - an eight-session course produced by the Bible Society to help us understand the Bible for ourselves painting the big picture of the Bible storyline - from Genesis to Revelation

Ten Practical Tips - the author is this short article writes, “Reading the Bible as Christian Scripture is both simple and complex. It is complex because-like any art, craft, or sport-it requires a range of tools and much practice in order to reach a level of significant competency… But reading Scripture is also simple. An ordinary reader can go far toward deep understanding, without special training or even a Bible study guide, because the most basic task of reading Scripture is paying close attention to words.”

4 C’s - this helpful short outline has been used in the Chelmsford Diocese in England offer four Cs to bear in mind as we engage with Scripture: Context, Community, Critical Study and Change.

‘going deeper’ can mean different things. These resources offer ways of ‘going deeper’ in three ways - by encountering the whole of Scripture in a limited time [Bible Challenge]; by experiencing a different way of approaching and engaging with the Bible; and by learning from Biblical scholars through the videos and articles.

Bible Challenge - an initiative that challenges congregations to read either the whole Bible in a year or large sections of it over Lent or Advent.

these resources offer outlines for a study day on an aspect of our understanding of how we engage with Scripture.Study days are helpful ways to immerse people in a particular area of exploration. These resources come from different parts of the Anglican Communion and, in their different ways, seek to draw people into a deeper engagement.

there are many ways to explore and engage with the Bible. Perhaps you are looking for something that is new for you, your church or group. The resources here are examples of a number of very different approaches to engaging with Scripture.

Exploring the Gospels side by side: there four Gospels, all about the life, teaching, mission, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. They offer us four different accounts but might we gain new insights into Jesus by exploring them together, in parallel? These studies give an introduction to exploring the Gospels in this way and then take us into 6 studies from Jesus’ life.

Lectio Divina - is a contemplative way of reading the Bible dating back to the early centuries of the Christian Church and was established as a monastic practice by Benedict in the 6th century. It is a way of praying the scriptures that leads us deeper into God’s word. We slow down. We read a short passage more than once. We chew it over slowly and carefully. We savour it.

Gospel-Based Discipleship - So, what is Gospel Based Discipleship (GBD)? “First, let me tell you what it is not. It is not a Bible study and it is not meant to replace the Daily Office. It is not a theological debate. GBD is not the only way to engage the Gospel. Now, let me tell you what it is. GBD is a way of life and it leads us in our daily walk with Jesus.” When you think about it, it is the same technique that Jesus used with his disciples. Intrigued?

Reading with imagination - This is an approach to Bible Study in the Ignatian tradition and this exercise in engagement with Scripture offers an example based on exploring the Book of Ruth.

A meditation first published in Finding Sanctuary: Monastic steps for Everyday Life by Christopher Jamison former Abbot of Worth Abbey in Sussex, England.

Contextual Bible Study - the BILC project has shown that Anglicans read the Bible in many ways. One particular and distinctive method, known as Contextual Bible Study, is widely practised across the Communion. This paper sets out the characteristic features of the method.

The Ujamaa Centre Resource Manual for Contextual Bible Study - The contents of this Manual have been produced over more than twenty years of doing Contextual Bible Study. It has been compiled from the work of the staff of the Ujamaa Centre for Biblical and Theological Community Development and Research in the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in south Africa. It offers not only insights into how to undertake and conduct Contextual Bible Study but also 23 Bible Study outlines from its South African context.

the Bible is often referred to, quite rightly, as either a collection or library of books. But as it comes between two covers as a ‘normal’ book does, there must be something that holds it all together. These resources try to unpack what that ‘something’ is and offer an overview of the ‘big picture’.

BIBLE360 - an outline of a day courses created by the Diocese of Brisbane, Australia that explores how the Bible fits together and how we can engage more deeply with it. It began with the question: How can we motivate people to read their Bible more?

The Bible - get the BIG picture - an eight-session course produced by the Bible Society to help us understand the Bible for ourselves painting the big picture of the Bible storyline - from Genesis to Revelation.

Pilgrim Course - a six-session course produced by the Church of England exploring the Bible as breath, living water, lamp, two-edged sword and daily bread.

Good Book Club - how might a congregation work its way through the Bible week by week?

other parts of the Anglican Communion offer us windows to see how things are often done differently from the way that we do things. These resources offer insights, reflections and case-studies that invite us to stand in another’s shoes and see things from their perspective.

Regional reflections from Phase 1 of BILC - these reflections, written in 2012, are windows into how the Bible is valued and used in a number of regions across the Anglican Communion.

Case Studies - how do others ‘do the Bible’? as a global family the Anglican Communion can learn from others in that family. These case studies look at ways in which congregations, dioceses and provinces in different parts of the Communion have engaged with Scripture.These case studies from across the Anglican Communion offer some exciting examples of answers to that question.

Light for our Path series of commentaries on the three-year lectionary from an African perspective. There is also a Consolidated Index for these three volumes showing which lectionary readings are in each one.

Seminary conversations - how might theological colleges and seminaries in different parts of the Anglican Communion talk to one another and engage with Scripture together?

Continuing Indaba resources - the work of Continuing Indaba brought together theological resources from scholars across the Anglican Communion. What might we learn from them?

E mail conversations between Biblical Scholars from differing theological view-points - how might you address some of the key biblical and theological questions that lie behind the way we, as a Communion, engage with Scripture. These conversations sought a way to try and do this and also offer a model for future explorations of difference across the Communion. The four conversations looked at the following questions:

'Attentive' or 'responsible' readings of Scripture are ways of paying heed to what they teach, while avoiding simplistic or misleading interpretations.

Reading the Bible course - The Friends of Sabeel, UK have produced an introduction for those planning to facilitate a Bible reading session (perhaps half a day or longer) for a group of people committed to discovering how to read scripture in the context of the Palestine/Israel situation and Palestinian Christianity in particular.

through its official documents, resolutions and reports the Anglican Communion has said a great deal over many years about its understanding of the place of the Bible in its life. These resources offer an extract of what the Communion has said, identify a number of themes and principles in these documents and commissioned a study course to explore these themes.

E mail conversations between Biblical Scholars from differing theological view-points - how might you address some of the key biblical and theological questions that lie behind the way we, as a Communion, engage with Scripture. These conversations sought a way to try and do this and also offer a model for future explorations of difference across the Communion. The four conversations looked at the following questions: